I was contacted by Coco (a.k.a. cocochoo) back in March to do this interview and I was so excited! I always love getting to ‘meet’ people online that I hadn’t gotten a chance to interact with and Coco was very fun to interview! Some of her answers have been slightly edited for clarity at her request (English is not her first language), but I’ve done my best to maintain the integrity of her answers.

Hi Coco! What can you tell us about yourself and how you discovered Blythe?
I am a portrait photographer in Hong Kong; vintage collage and bisque doll enthusiast, a self-taught doll sculptor… and a Blythe addict!

I studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London during 2005-2007. I thought I would be a graphic designer but now I am running a sole studio and do photography (wedding / pet portraits mainly) for a living. Besides that, I am a “zoophilist”, I do free projects for animals, for stray and abandoned animals only.

I love all kinds of dolls since I was a little girl, but I “found” and fell in love with ball jointed doll since 2005 and although I knew about “Blythe” all that time, I was not too much into these big eyes dolly, and I almost can say that I began to pay attention on them while I was seeking outfits for my bjd and I always found amazing clothes in Blythe size only, I was encouraged by my friends to get my first Blythe, and yes I really did, I totally felt in love with “custom Blythe” after I have hours searching on Flickr.

I decided to have a try on making a special one for myself. By then it was November 2010 and I got into this amazing world. I’d love to collect other Blythe customizers’ work and I also felt in love with stock Blythes too, I also got my first Kenner last month. I have to admit that even though I was not in love with Blythe at first sight, I totally love them more and more day by day now. they have power.

How did you get started with customizing Blythe dolls?
I am a doll sculptor before I falling in love with Blythes. At first, some custom Blythe are very pricey for me especially the one I love, that’s why I have decided I have to make one for myself that I really love. I practice and practice and tried to find a way of customizing a “coco style” one. my works are still not prefect nowadays but I think I at least did them better and better.

What has been your most memorable customized doll so far? What made it memorable for you?
My #22 one, named “Kir”, she is the first one that I thought I finally found a unique way to have “my style” – with two tiny visible teeth girl. Although I will still create new type customs, but this one means so much to me because she is loved by many people.

What have you learned about yourself since you started customizing Blythe?
I think I am very lucky. I wouldn’t stop doing this as long as there is one person in this world loves my work. I am not a successful photographer and I am not successful in anything else, but I love myself better when I have finished a new girl and she receives some compliments. I have never imagine that one day I would had such a special “part time job”; becoming a Blythe customizer is the most enjoyable part of my life.

Has having a background in doll sculpting helped you (or even hindered you) in Blythe customizing?
Basically they don’t have directly interactions, but I do think they are in a similar or same area, just like I learned graphic design but I also do photography, most of the time there is interpretation.

What kind of routine do you have when you start customizing a doll?
I have to put some dolls in front of me (or the dolls’ portraits), they are either a sculpture or a bjd. Most of time it is another custom of mine, but I always not able to carve and paint a certain look. The “models” are just part of the inspiration, they usually come out to be different faces.

How does it make you feel when you see other people photographing your work?
Well I feel very happy about it, I enjoy seeing my custom girls go to everywhere of the world and have totally different lives. I am very thankful to whom offered a new home for them.

There’s a lot of customizers out there, if you had to tell someone why they should buy your work, what would you say?
Bring them home if they make you happy and if you love to see them everyday. I know that dolls might not have real lives but we give them life. This is why I’d love to collect other customizers’ works.

What has been the most challenging thing for you so far when it comes to customizing Blythe?
The most challenging and “dangerous” thing is that there is no take two. 😛 When I sculpt a doll, I can redo any part but this cannot happened when customizing a Blythe.

I know that there are some people who collect both your custom Blythe work and your ball-jointed dolls. What can you tell us about your bjd work?
Yes I am very happy that they love all kinds of my work. I decided to create a bjd after I found and joined a local forum, which was about self-made ball jointed dolls. I met many great artists there and many of them are college students. I was encouraged by then.

What can we expect from you in the future with your customizing work? Will you be branching out to other dolls, like Middie?
I’d like to create some new more style customs, yes I love trying all kinds of new stuffs, like Middie (tried only one before), Dal and Pullip.

Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Coco! What kind of advice do you have for someone who’s new to Blythe?
Thank you! I am very happy and thankful to be interviewed. it’s indeed a wonderful world, but never too late to be find Blythe. 🙂

You can find out more about cocochoo at her website (cocochoo.net) and on Flickr! Also check out her Flickr group for photos of her bjd and custom dolls.

Faceplates Giveaway!

Coco has graciously decided to give away a set of RBL faceplates that she has customized! It is the front and back faceplates only (does not include the eye mechanism or hair).

You can get up to eight (8) entries for this giveaway draw and you can enter until Saturday April 28th at 11:59pm PDT. The draw will be held on Sunday April 29th 2012 and the winner will be announced on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. If you win, your email will be forwarded to Coco so she can get in contact with you about the faceplates!

Please only use one email address per person, those using multiple email addresses for more entries will be disqualified.

Mandatory Entry: Comment below about this interview and include any additional questions you have for Coco!

Bonus Entry #1: Tweet about the contest! Please retweet the following once per day from your public Twitter account! (If you look below, there is a box for you to include your Twitter username, if you do, I can easily verify your bonus entry!) Each tweet is 1 entry into the giveaway for a maximum of 2 entries into the giveaway. Please comment below to tell me that you’ve been tweeting (1 comment per tweet!)

Check out the @blythelifecom interview with cocochoo & also the giveaway! http://bit.ly/IUnN87

Bonus Entry #2: Blog about the contest! Be sure to include some details about the contest and include links to BlytheLife.com, this interview/giveaway page and to Coco’s Flickr photostream or website! For 1 blog entry, this is worth 5 entries into the giveaway! You must comment below with the URL to your blog post.

137 Responses to “Interview with cocochoo and Giveaway!”

I love Coco’s dolls, they are so sweet and whimsical. I am always impressed by the details that other customizers can create on such a small scale. Girls with little teeth and dimples always have that extra little glimmer!

Secondly, it was interesting to hear that customizers have that same feeling of “no second chances” when working on a Blythe… I love my girls so much, I fear that if I did anything to them I would ruin them!

Keep up the great work Coco… I love seeing your cuties in my flickr stream!

Very nice work, the lips are beautiful. I am glad to hear Coco say she wants to try customizing Phillips and f dals. I can not wait to see! I have a question about lip carving,, did you ruin many lips before perfecting your technique?

Coco is a very talented girl:)the dolls that she make are so sweet and adorable that you fell in love with them at first sight:)keep doing the worderful work dear Coco!!!we looking forward to see your news:)

I love your dolls Coco! I look forward to one day having one of your custom dolls in my Blythe family. My favorite of your girls has to be your Teal hair beauty! Your work is amazing and I hope I’m lucky enough to win these plates! *crossing fingers*

I really liked to read this interview – It´s always fun to know people at bit better and to read about their hobby and dolls 🙂 It would be fantastic to win Coco´s lovely costum faceplate!! Thanks for this idea!

I’ve been following Coco since I discovered her beautiful customs. Congrats on the interview Coco, it was a great read and it’s nice to get to know you a little better as well. I look forward to seeing how your customs evolve in the future.

I really liked this interview, it was kind of a shock to me to see how young Coco is–she has the skill and talent of someone who’s much older! I also liked hearing about how she starts her customs by looking at models–I do the same, but with pictures!

I’m curious about what tools and supplies she uses–as a junior customizer I’m still trying to figure out the best tools and materials to use, and it’s nice to see what the pros use!

I love reading interviews like this. I also felt a kinship for coco because i too believe that art is nothing until you bring it too life. Be it sculpting painting or doll designing. I would like to know if coco has any idea what design she will be using for the dal and pullip dolls? I often have a spark of what i want when i am creating but don’t really know fully until i am working on the project. Just wondering if it was the same for her.
Also blogged about this:) 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Coco’s work is amazing! I’m very surprised to read that she hasn’t been into Blythe all that long. Mainly because I didn’t start customizing any dolls until last year and look up to her and her amazing dollies. She creates such flawless, inspiring dolls. I can only hope to own one of her girls one day:)

Wonderful interview and superb photos. One only has to look into those darling faces to admire the work of this talented artist.
Humm questions I would ask… How many Blythe do you have in your personal collection and which other customs do you admire?

The contest is amazing and the winner will be super lucky…hope it is me !

Great interview. I really love getting to know the people behind the dolls and especially love reading about artists. It’s nice to get some insight to what drives them and how such lovely pieces of set come to be.

Great interview and lovely work, you go from strength to strength!
I love your girls with their little teeth, and it’s so wonderful to know that you’ve only been doing this for a short while…..there is hope for us all! But you obviously are very talented!!

I own two of Coco’s dolls and they are my favorites. Not only is she talented but she is a lovely person and I feel so lucky to have met her. Great interview Coco and best of luck with all of your endeavers!

I think one of my favorite things about learning about fellow doll collectors is getting to see the face behind the username! 😀 How nice to see you, Coco *waves* Also so kind of Coco to do this giveaway as well! <3 I know whoever gets the faceplates will be super happy!

i can’t help but envy people with such talent >.< they're all such sweeties too!
i love how coco admits she struggled to find her own personal style, it's such a common thing that seems to come to customisers unnaturally easily.
i want to ask coco: when she began customising, which dolls did she practice on? Blythes she already owned, new girls or fakies?

Coco seems so humble 🙂 They way she expresses herself about her custom work is just lovely. I love the fact she continues to better her work and skills and really just does it for the love of Blythe and nothing more.
I’d like to know if she has any plans to add any other signature details to her customm work aside from the teeth.

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